I’ve lived in Walkden since I was a small boy, and my family roots in the local area go back much further – my mother grew up on Birch Road in Walkden and my father on Vicars Hall Lane in Boothstown, and I have family across the local area, including in Little Hulton and Peel Green.
As someone who aspires to represent the local area in Parliament, I promise that if elected that the views of the local people who I would represent would be at the forefront of my mind every step of the way and with every decision that I would take. I will never forget that it is my family, my friends, my neighbours and my colleagues who will vote to decide whether or not I am successful at the next General Election.
Too many MPs – on all sides of the House – have clearly made it down to Westminster and forgotten about the people who elected them. Faced with a vote, or an expenses form, my reaction will be – “what would my constituents want me to do?”.
With that in mind, here are a few straightforward pledges I am making now to local residents. If elected as the next MP for Worsley and Eccles South, I will:
- Always put the interests of local people in Worsley and Eccles South first in every decision I make
- Publish details of any expenses claims I make, when they are made, on my website
- Claim only for standard-class rail travel between Worsley and Westminster (unless an advance first-class fare is cheaper), and use cheaper advance fares where possible
- Run a staffed constituency office, and publish the names of those staff, who will not be members of my family
- Not use the £10000 per annum communications allowance, and ensure that all political leaflets are paid for by myself or by local Conservatives – not the taxpayer
- Only claim for expenses directly incurred as a result of my work as an MP – no furniture, no televisions, no food and drink.
- Be a full-time MP serving the people of Worsley and Eccles South.
Will you put Local people before the whip?
I think not.
Will you rent or buy in London?
“Not use the £10000 per annum communications allowance, and ensure that all political leaflets are paid for by myself or by local Conservatives – not the taxpayer .”
Iain,
If you beat Barbara Keeley at the next General Election it will almost certainly mean that we will have a Conservative Government.
Your Party has already pledged to get rid of the Communications allowance if elected.
Not really much of a promise, is it?
Adam.
Andrew,
My first loyalty for an MP is to the constituents that elected them – something too many of them have forgotten when they were filling in their claim forms (or defending a Speaker who tried to protect the current system, for that matter – something I noted in this week’s Private Eye). I make no apologies for saying thought that David Cameron’s agenda for Government is something I believe to be in the interests of local residents in Worsley and Eccles South.
As for buying or renting, I wouldn’t be so presumptuous to make any plans before the election. I would prefer to rent, but it depends what provides the best value-for-money for the taxpayer. I’d have no problem with a giant dorm for MPs, it would do the job.
Adam,
Yes it is Conservative policy to scrap the abuse of taxpayers’ money for political propaganda and I have no hesitation in endorsing that policy and pledging to abide by it. It is the right thing to do.
Iain
But I have a problem with rich non doms financing local parties. They obviously think that a Tory government would have policies to suit them if and when they get into power.
Aled, I can assure you first of all that there are no rich non-doms funding the Conservative Party in the City of Salford! Secondly of course David Cameron has made sure that the donor base of the Conservative Party has widened, and that the next Conservative Government would introduce a cap on individual donations of £50000 – the days of the super-rich or vested interests funding political parties would be over.
Going back to your pledges, the first thing I’d point out is that there’s nothing inherently wrong with employing relatives (or friends for that matter). Indeed, in the case of marriage partners, it may make a lot of sense. The provisos, of course, are that they’re paid the ‘going rate’ (difficult as that may be to define) AND that they actually DO what they’re paid for. It’s that last point that really sticks in most people’s throats.
As to your travel plans, I’m disappointed you’ve dismissed Megabus out-of-hand.
But seriously, I think you might need to reconsider the ‘Standard Class’ bit, as I strongly suspect you’d need that two hour or so journey time for preparation work. With the best will in the world, you wouldn’t have ‘elbow room’ to do much of that in Standard Class and, looking at your ‘hourly rate’, it might even be better value for money!
..and if you need an ‘Idiot’s Guide’ to who’s done what, when, how and what remorse they’re now showing, the BBC are now providing it here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8039273.stm